"The Fire Sermon" Annotations
From The Waste Land Wiki
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This "he" adopts the role of a Buddha-like figure, who promises deliverance from the overwhelming feeling of dejection in modern society. | This "he" adopts the role of a Buddha-like figure, who promises deliverance from the overwhelming feeling of dejection in modern society. | ||
| − | ==William Shakespeare== | + | ==Stanza 1== |
| + | |||
| + | ===William [[Shakespeare]]=== | ||
The lines 173-174 allude to Ophelia's death in [[''Hamlet'' (Act IV Scene VII)]]. | The lines 173-174 allude to Ophelia's death in [[''Hamlet'' (Act IV Scene VII)]]. | ||
| − | + | The river's tent is broken: the last fingers of leaf | |
Clutch and sink into the wet bank | Clutch and sink into the wet bank | ||
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"This music crept by me upon the waters" | "This music crept by me upon the waters" | ||
| − | ==Edmund Spenser== | + | ===Edmund Spenser=== |
Allusion to Spenser's [["Prothalamion"]] | Allusion to Spenser's [["Prothalamion"]] | ||
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Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song | Sweet Thames, run softly, till I end my song | ||
| − | ==Andrew Marvell== | + | ===Andrew Marvell=== |
Allusion to Marvell's [["To His Coy Mistress"]] | Allusion to Marvell's [["To His Coy Mistress"]] | ||
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The rattle of the bones, and chuckle spread from ear to ear. | The rattle of the bones, and chuckle spread from ear to ear. | ||
| − | ==Ovid== | + | ===[[Ovid]]=== |
Allusion to Ovid's [[''Metamorphoses'']] | Allusion to Ovid's [[''Metamorphoses'']] | ||
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Tereu | Tereu | ||
| − | ==Charles Baudelaire== | + | ===Charles [[Baudelaire]]=== |
Allusion to [[“Des Sept Viellards” from ''Les Fleurs du Mal'']] | Allusion to [[“Des Sept Viellards” from ''Les Fleurs du Mal'']] | ||
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Under the brown fog of a winter noon | Under the brown fog of a winter noon | ||
| − | ==Walt Whitman== | + | ===Walt Whitman=== |
Allusion to [[“These I Singing in Spring” from ''Leaves of Grass'']] | Allusion to [[“These I Singing in Spring” from ''Leaves of Grass'']] | ||
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Unshaven, with a pocket full of currants | Unshaven, with a pocket full of currants | ||
| − | ==[[Tiresias]]== | + | ===[[Tiresias]]=== |
Allusion to the mythological story of Tiresias, a blind, wise Theban prophet who served seven years as a woman, causing him to be sympathetic to women’s issues. After expressing his belief that women enjoy sex more than men to Jupiter and Juno, Juno struck him blind, but Jupiter gave him the gift of prophecy and the lifespan of seven men. | Allusion to the mythological story of Tiresias, a blind, wise Theban prophet who served seven years as a woman, causing him to be sympathetic to women’s issues. After expressing his belief that women enjoy sex more than men to Jupiter and Juno, Juno struck him blind, but Jupiter gave him the gift of prophecy and the lifespan of seven men. | ||
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And walked among the lowest of the dead.) | And walked among the lowest of the dead.) | ||
| − | ==Robert Louis Stevenson== | + | ===Robert Louis Stevenson=== |
Allusion to [["Requiem"]] | Allusion to [["Requiem"]] | ||
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I who have sat by Thebes below the wall | I who have sat by Thebes below the wall | ||
| − | ==Oliver Goldsmith== | + | ===Oliver Goldsmith=== |
Allusion to [[''The Vicar of Wakefield'']] | Allusion to [[''The Vicar of Wakefield'']] | ||
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When lovely woman stoops to folly | When lovely woman stoops to folly | ||
| − | ==Thames Daughters== | + | ===Thames Daughters=== |
Song of the Thames daughters (also known as the Rhine daughters), who were nymphs who sang a song to guard the Rhine gold. The owner of the gold could rule the world, but would have to give up love and live in eternal desolation. | Song of the Thames daughters (also known as the Rhine daughters), who were nymphs who sang a song to guard the Rhine gold. The owner of the gold could rule the world, but would have to give up love and live in eternal desolation. | ||
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Wallala leialala | Wallala leialala | ||
| − | ==St. Augustine== | + | ===St. Augustine=== |
Allusion to [[''Confessions'']] | Allusion to [[''Confessions'']] | ||
To Carthage then I came | To Carthage then I came | ||
